What is the purpose of an Exit Interview?

A question that around half of you may be asking if a recent survey is anything to go by. Cpl’s Talent Evolution Group surveyed 1,500 people who had resigned from their employer in the past 5 years.  They report that following their resignation, 55% of respondents were not invited to a formal exit interview and 38% were not asked to give any feedback at all.  By not capturing this feedback, their employers have missed the opportunity to identify issues and trends that, if known about and addressed, could reduce employee turnover.

Just in case you are wondering why failing to reduce staff turnover is a bad thing, firstly, it substantially increases costs through frequent recruitment, training, and onboarding processes; secondly, it disrupts workflow and productivity as employees with valuable knowledge and skills leave and new employees require time to reach optimal performance levels. Thirdly, it adversely affects employee morale and engagement, leading to decreased job satisfaction and even higher turnover rates. In short, employers should be doing all they can to understand and reduce staff turnover and conducting exit interviews is a key part of that process.

Are Exit Interviews actually effective?

It depends on what you are trying to achieve.  Some employers don’t conduct an exit interview until their employee is half-way out of the door on their last day. Whilst this approach almost guarantees unfiltered honesty, it doesn’t allow you any opportunity to address what is causing that employee to leave. Holding an exit interview on receipt of someone’s resignation allows you to discuss the rationale behind their decision and assess whether there is any opportunity to retain the employee with a counter offer of an increased salary, change to their job role, career development or working conditions etcetera. 

If you’re not able to convince the employee to stay, at least you know what has driven them to resign and you can start collecting data to identify common themes and trends that you can respond to.  One employee leaving to do the same job for a higher rate of pay may be a concern, but if half your team is off to the same employer then you might want to adapt your pay strategy.  One person leaving due to a personality clash with their line manager is regrettable, a number of people leaving the same team for the same reason points to a problem in need of addressing.

What should I ask in an Exit Interview?

Here are a few questions that should help you open up an honest discussion,

1. What has prompted your decision to leave the company?
2. Are there any other factors that contributed to your decision to resign?
3. Is there anything that we can change that would encourage you to stay?
4. Have you experienced any difficulties at work that you feel could have been avoided?
5. Do you feel supported in your role?
6. Do you feel valued and recognised for your contribution? 
7. Have you been offered sufficient opportunities for professional development or advancement?
8. Would you recommend us as an employer to a friend?
9. Have you felt safe to provide honest feedback during your employment?
10. Do you have any other suggestions for areas where the company could improve or make changes?

Other Considerations

Once you have this information, its important to follow up and do something about the feedback that you have been given, even if its too late for this employee.  Give some consideration to what information needs to be shared with whom and advise the employee who you will be sharing their feedback with and in what format.  This may be different for different people; there is no point getting some honest feedback about the lack of people management skills of a senior manager if its not eventually going to be shared with them to enable them to reflect and improve.

If you want to really make a difference, an exit interview should be the last opportunity to discuss these types of issues; you might want to consider encompassing “engagement” or “retention interviews” into regular performance management or supervisory conversations.  Make one-to-one meetings a regular occurrence (monthly or at least quarterly) and make them safe spaces where employees can share honest feedback about what irks them without fear of retribution. This way you’ll be able to nip any issues in the bud before they start to affect staff turnover.   Aside from the first three questions, the Exit Interview questions above can be adapted to Retention Interview questions instead.

In Summary

Exit Interviews are a useful tool to understand staff turnover in order to be able to effect positive change, however they are more effective when used in conjunction with retention interviews.

Need Help?

Cath Dixon, our HR Consultant is available to assist you with exit interviews, retention interviews and advice and support around staff turnover and employee engagement. Get in touch by emailing employment@warnergoodman.co.uk or call 023 8071 7717.